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Winter Apples (10) : Whereas most trees have already lost their leaves and stand barren in the winter months, these trees are still a lively green and don't seem affected at all. The most interesting thing about these trees isn't their color--it's the sudden fruit that has appeared on them. A few days after the first snowfall, little apples began to grow--small, bright red. They range in size from berries to plums--but taste like the sweetest apple you've ever sampled. They're all over the city, and the harvest is bountiful; more appear after every snowfall. There's just one catch--eat too many, or eat the wrong one--and you're out cold. Every apple risks drowsiness, fatigue, and even unconsciousness that can last for a few hours up to a day. If you're looking for a sweet treat and a good nap, you've come to the right place. Just make sure you're somewhere comfortable first.
When the apples first appeared Shannon didn’t give them a second thought. Strange things were always happening in the city, mostly around the end of the year, so what was new about these little fist sized apples? The surprisingly green trees covered in snow were more of a show stopper for her than the little red fruit that hung like baubles from the branches. That general indifference started to fade as the apples were everywhere. They were more abundant than any other food currently on offer, and it was all technically ‘free’ if plucked from the source, although there were quite a few in the city making money off of selling the fruit. Shannon abstained from the apples, not for fear but for practical reasons… she didn’t trust that it wasn’t something going on. Either a miscalculation made by some officer or some ‘good will’ s**t from the ‘Order’ crowd. She didn’t trust it. Not even if it really was a ‘natural’ phenomenon from all the magic that permeated the city.
It wasn’t until she was relaxing in a secluded corner of a cafe that she finally sampled the ‘locally famous Winter Apples’. The trendy cafe had a few fruit tarts for sale but they also provided a small fruit with each cup of hot cider or hot chocolate. There were dozens of people enjoying their drink and little treat, some even going up to get just more of the apples. Shannon instead contemplated the little compact red fruit, it was about the size of a large strawberry and perfectly formed. Bright and red, as perfect an apple as an apple could be. A real picture perfect specimen. After looking it, and watching everyone else in the cafe eat theirs, Shannon picked up the little apple and gingerly bit into it. Just a small bite at first but it was big enough.
Sweet juice flooded her mouth. It was like biting into the best, most apple, apple in the world. All the juice packed into the small little form. The best apple taste she had in years. “Oh,” She murmured in shock, looking at the small bite taken out of the apple. The second and final bite were quick ones, soon she sat there with nothing but a small sliver of a core left and her cup of warm cider. The urge to get more apples was strong but still she resisted. The little red fruit was as flavorful and wonderful as everyone seemed to be praising, surely one more wouldn’t hurt? Shannon shook her head and sipped her cider, finding the drink’s flavor dull and watery compared to the apple she had just devoured. And yet she still refused to give into the childlike inner voice demanding more. She was a grown adult. She would not be paying more for an apple. Especially since she could easily pluck one off a tree and consume it right there and then. Not that she would do that, she had more self control then a child after all.
Even if that apple had been damn good.
